Box spring assembly



Jan. 6, 1970 w. v. SLOMINSKI 3, 8 80 BOX SPRING ASSEMBLY Filed June 7,1967 3 h et 1 INVENTOR WALTER v. SLOMINSKI ATTORNEYS Jan. 6, 1970 w. v.SLOMINS'KI 3,487,480

BOX SPRING AS SEMBLY Filed June 7 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvsmor WALTER v.SLOMINSKI ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,487,480 BOX SPRING ASSEMBLYWalter V. Slominski, Lexington, Ky., assignor to Hoover Ball and BearingCompany, Saline, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed June 7, 1967,Ser. No. 644,358 Int. Cl. A47c 23/00 US. Cl. 5-247 6 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A box spring assembly in which a plurality of mainsprings are arranged crisscross fashion on a rectangular supportingframe, each main spring having a straight wire load supporting portionand resilient end mounting portions. Similarly constructed intermediatesupport springs extend between the frame and pairs of adjacent mainspring load supporting portions for resiliently supporting intermediateportions of the main springs. The mounting portions for all of thesprings in the assembly are shaped so that with only a minor variationin the springs, a desired height for a particular spring assembly isachieved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to wire springassemblies which are especially adapted for manufacturing box springs ofthe type normally used on beds, although the springs of this inventioncan be used in other environments. The conventional box spring consistsof a rectangular wooden frame on which a plurality of coil springs andborder wires are mounted, and a fabric cover and pad are positioned overthe springs and the border wires and attached to the frame. Such a boxspring is heavy, and unnecessarily expensive, because of the amount ofwire used in the coil springs. The box spring assembly shown in US.Patent No. 3,286,281, owned by the assignee of this application,overcomes the above described disadvantages inherent in conventional boxspring assemblies and is advantageous because it utilizes a plurality ofreadily manufacturable springs which are substantially identical. Thebox spring assembly of this invention is an improvement on the one shownin the aforementioned patent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Box spring assemblies are marketed in differentheights, the height being the distance between the frame and the planeof the load supporting deck of the assembly. The reason box springassemblies are marketed in different heights is because mattresses ofdifferent thicknesses are used on box springs, and the combined heightof the box spring and thickness of the mattress must be uniform in orderto achieve uniform bed height. In the past, this necessity for makingbox spring assemblies of different heights required the manufacture of astandard box spring assembly of minimum height, and when one of greaterheight was desired this was accomplished by either adding additionalWood to the frame, or making a substantial change in the construction ofthe individual springs in the assembly. The addition of wood to theframe is undesirable because it adds unnecessary weight to the assemblyand this solution is becoming more and more expensive as lumber becomesmore expensive. A substantial change in the spring construction involvesvery high costs for changes in manufacturing machinery.

In the box spring assembly of this invention, all of the main springsand the intermediate support springs are constructed so that theyconsist of a straight wire load supporting portion, which cooperate toform the spring assembly deck, and end mounting portions which are FE ii 7 Ce 3,487,480

Patented Jan. 6, 1970 attached to the frame. The mounting portions inall of the springs are substantially identical, thereby facilitatingmanufacture of the springs. The mounting portions are also constructedso that each includes a pair of parallel torsion bars which arevertically spaced and connected by a vertical leg disposed adjacent thespring assembly deck. By making only a minor variation in the setup ofthe spring making machinery, the length of this leg can be adjusted tothereby adjust the overall height of the resulting spring assemblywithout affecting any foldangles or any other parts of the springs. As aresult, the machinery for making the springs is readily setup to makespring assemblies of varying heights at practically no additional cost.This is accomplished while also providing improved springcharacteristics for the spring assembly which will impart the desirableresilient firmness to the spring assembly deck.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved boxspring assembly which incorporates improved springs.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description, the appendedclaims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the box spring assembly of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a portion of thebox spring assembly of this invention as seen from substantially theline 22 in FIG. 1, illustrating in broken lines the shape of the springfor achieving an increased spring assembly height;

FIGURE 3 is a foreshortened developed view of the intermediate supportspring shown in FIG. 2 illustrating in broken lines the shape of thespring for achieving the increased spring height shown in broken linesin FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the springassembly of this invention illustrating the intermediate support springshown in FIG. 2;

FIGURE 5 is'an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view of aportion of the spring assembly of this invention as seen fromsubstantially the line 55 in FIG. 1, illustrating in broken lines theshape of the spring for obtaining an increased spring assembly height;and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the portion of the springassembly of this invention illustrated in FIG. 5.

With reference to the drawing, the spring assembly of this invention,indicated generally at 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as including arectangular support frame 12, shown as being formed of wood but whichcan also be formed of metal, plastic or the like, a plurality of mainsprings 14 which extend lengthwise of the frame 12, and a plurality ofmain springs 16 which extend transversely of the main frame 12. Asectional border wire 18 is secured to the main springs 14 and 16 sothat the border wire 18 is disposed above the periphery of the frame 12.A plurality of intermediate support springs 20, illustrated as beingtwelve in number, support intermediate portions of the main springs 14and 16 on transversely extending slats or rails 22 which are arranged inpairs and form part of the frame 12.

Since the main springs 14 and 16 are substantially identical, differingonly in that the springs 14 are longer than the springs 16, only a mainspring 16 is described in detail hereinafter. Each main spring 16includes a substantially straight wire load supporting portion 24 (FIG.1 and 5 which is formed at its ends with integral mounting portions 26which are substantially identical, being right and left hand versions ofeach other. Each mounting portion 26 extends in a direction generallynormal to the load supporting portion 24 and functions to resilientlysupport one end of the load supporting portion 24 above the frame 12. Asshown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the spring 16 is formed, at the juncture of theload supporting portion 24 and the mounting portion 26, with a firsttorsion bar 28 which is parallel to and spaced above a second torsionbar 30. A leg 32, which is substantially perpendicular to the planeoccupied by the load supporting portion 24 connects the torsion bars 28and 30 at one of their ends, and the length of the leg 32 determines thespacing between the torsion bars 28 and 30. The opposite end of thetorsion bar 30 is formed with an inclined connecting section 34 which isin turn formed integral with another torsion bar 36, another inclinedconnecting section 38, another torsion bar 40, another inclinedconnecting section 42, still another torsion bar 44, a final inclinedconnecting section 46, and a final torsion bar 48 which is positioned inengagement with the top side of the frame 12. In the illustratedembodiment of the invention, the mounting portion 26 is secured to theframe 12 by extending staples 50 through the torsion bar 48 and anL-shape leg 52 formed integral therewith.

As best appears in FIG. 5, the connecting sections 34, 38, 42 and 46 arearranged in a substantially W-formation for resiliently supporting thetop torsion bar 28. Each torsion bar 28 is connected by a conventionalspring clip 53 to the border Wire 18 which reinforces the torsion bar 28so that it cannot tilt to any great extent toward the adjacent torsionbar 30. Furthermore, under load, the connecting sections 34, 38, 42 and46 tend to be twisted by the relative movement of the torsion bars atthe ends thereof so that the connecting sections also function to someextent as torsion bars. The net result is a desirable firm resistance toload with the amount of resilience associated with comfort.

Each support spring 20 also includes a straight wire load supportingportion 54 which, as shown in FIG. 1, extends somewhat diagonally acrossthe rectangular space formed by intersecting pairs of main springs 14and 16. The ends of the straight wire load support portion 54 are formedwith straight wire attaching sections 56 which are secured by clips 58to the main springs 14. These straight wire sections 56 are formedintegral with the top torsion bars 60 in the resilient end mountingportions 62 for the intermediate support spring 20 which extendgenerally perpendicular to the load supporting portion 54. Since themounting portions 62 for the springs 20 are substantially identical,being left and right hand versions of each other, only one mountingportion 62 is described in detail hereinafter.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the mounting portion 62 includes atorsion bar 64 which is substantially parallel to and spaced below thetorsion bar 60. A leg 66 which is substantially perpendicular to theplane of the load supporting portion 54 extends between the torsion bars60 and 64 and the length of the leg 66 determines the spacing betweenthe torsion bars at one end thereof. Clips 67 connect the torsion bars60 to the springs 16 so as to reinforce the torsion bars 60. One end ofthe torsion bar 64 is also formed integral with an inclined connectingsection 68 which is formed integral with a torsion bar 70, anotherinclined connecting section 72, another torsion bar 74, a final inclinedconnecting section 76, a final torsion bar 78, and a leg 80. Staples 82are illustrated for attaching the leg 80 and the torsion bar 78 to aframe rail 22. It can thus be seen, that when the portion 54 of thespring 20 is loaded, the end mounting portions 62 will deflect so as tofirmly resist the load with the desired degree of resiliency.

It can readily be seen from a-comparison of FIGS. 2 and 5 that themounting portion 26 for the main spring 16 and the mounting portion 62for the support spring 20 are different in the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention. It is to be understood that the usual practice is to makethe mounting portions 26 and 62 identical for ease of manufacturingpurposes, these spring portions being illustrated as being differentonly for illustrative purposes to illustrate two possible configurationsfor each of these springs. In \both, a substantially W-formation isachieved, the spring portion 26 having one more inclined connectingsection and one more torsion bar and for that reason being advantageousfrom the standpoint of spring capability and length of service life.

The straight wire loading supporting spring portions 24 and 54 cooperateto form a load supporting Wire deck 90 which is in a plane substantiallyparallel to the frame 12 and on which the usual padding and fabric aremounted. The spring portions 24 may be slightly inclined at their ends,as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, but when the fabric is applied it tends tostraighten out these portions. Reference herein to the plane of thespring load supporting portions thus means the general plane parallel tothe frame 12 in which the majority of these portions are found. As shownin FIGS. 2 and S, the deck 90 can be raised relative to the main frame12 by forming the spring mounting portions 26 and 62 so that the legs 32and 66,

respectively, are of an increased length as illustrated at 32a and 66a.FIG. 3 illustrates, in connection with spring 20, how this increasedlength for a spacer leg is easily obtained by merely bending the wirewhich forms the spring so as to relocate the top torsion bar, in thiscase the torsion bar 60. This necessitates the use of a longer length ofWire, but this can be readily accomplished and a change in the wirebending machine to achieve their different bend is also easily achievedsince no changed angles or folds are necessary. It can thus be seen thata box spring assembly 10 of increased height, illustrated in brokenlines in FIGS. 2 and 5, can readily be obtained without a costly changein the springs and without the use of additional material in the frame12. The advantages of this arrangement are believed to be apparent.

This inherent ability of the springs 14, 16 and 20 to be easily modifiedso as to increase (or decrease) the spring height is due to thearrangement of the spring torsion bars so that the spacer legs 32 and 66are substantially vertical and are relatively short relative to theheight of the spring mounting portions 26 and 62. This is illustrated,by way of example, in FIG. 2 wherein the length of the spacer leg 66a isrepresented by the distance a and the length of the mounting portion 62between the torsion bar 64 and the foot 80 is shown at b. When thespacer leg 66:; is of a length to extend the height of the spring 20 toits maximum a is still less than b and in all other cases a issubstantially less than b. The same is true in the case of springs 14and 16. It is to be understood that the specific structure for attachingthe spring mounting portions 26 and 62 shown in the drawings, namely,the legs 52 and 80, forms no part of thepresent invention, but is thesubject matter of another application. The mounting portions 26 and 62can be attached to the frame 12 by structure other than thatillustrated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spring having a load supporting portion and a mounting portionat one end of said load supporting portion wherein said mounting portionextends generally normal to the plane of said load supporting portionand is of sufficient resilience to allow said load supporting portion toyieldably deflect under load, the improvement comprising providing afirst torsion bar at the juncture of said portions and forming saidmounting portion so that it has a leg of predetermined length extendingsubstantially perpendicularly away from one end of said torsion bar, a.second torsion bar formed integral with said leg and arranged in asubstantially parallel spaced relation with said first torsion bar, anda plurality of torsion bars and inclined connecting sections formedintegral with said second torsion bar and extended away from said loadsupporting portion.

2. A spring according to claim 1 in which said plurality of torsion barsand inclined connecting sections are arranged. in a SubstantiallyW-formation.

3. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of torsion barsand inclined connecting sections consists of at least three inclinedconnecting sections each of which is reversely inclined relative to theadjacent section and is connected thereto by a torsion bar.

4. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of torsion barsand inclined connecting sections consists of four connecting sections,each of which is connected to the adjacent connecting section by atorsion bar and is reversely inclined relative thereto.

5. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said leg is of a length lessthan one half the length of said mounting portion measured in adirection normal to the plane of said load supporting portion.

6. A spring according to claim 1 wherein said load supporting portionhas said mounting portion at each end thereof and the torsion bars insaid mounting portions are parallel to each other and inclined relativeto said load supporting portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS CASMIR A. NUNBERG, PrimaryExaminer US. Cl. X.R. 535 1

